Mokkup / Post-Apocalyptic Kaffeehaus
VIENNA DESIGN WEEK, London Design Festival & Dutch Design Week
“Our lives are shaped by rituals, which in turn are embedded in the objects we surround ourselves with. [This collection] examines what the core of these symbolic behaviour patterns might be and what remains even when the circumstances change radically.”
– Gabriel Roland, curator of the Austrian collection, “Postapocalyptic Kaffeehaus”
“Postapocalyptic Kaffeehaus” is part of Adorno London 2021, presented during London Design Festival, 18-26 September. Visit the collection in person as part of VIENNA DESIGN WEEK 2021, hosted at Festival Headquarters – Sachsenplatz 4–6, 1200 Vienna – 24 September – 3 October 2021, open daily 11.00 – 20.00. “Postapocalyptic Kaffeehaus” is kindly supported by Advantage Austria & VIENNA DESIGN WEEK.
A derelict space, overtaken by nature, yet recognisable to those with memories of the ritual. On entering, we seek out the familiar: the coffee cups, the chairs huddled around small tables, the imagined music and bits of overheard conversation, the rustle of notebooks and newspapers. The coffee house has taken on a different shape, covered over with trailing ivy and littered with dead leaves blown in by the wind. And yet, our ritual remains. We grasp onto the everyday despite the changes around us, we share coffee and our inner thoughts over reimagined tableware, under reinterpreted lighting. The objects we surround ourselves with reflect this new period in their materials and construction, allowing us to preserve these moments. In this familiar space, we can seek out that which connects us with one another and makes us feel at home.
The Austrian collection, “Postapocalyptic Kaffeehaus“, curated by Gabriel Roland, examines the continuation of everyday ritual in the face of altered circumstances. Looking to a radically changed future, the collection re-establishes the storied experience of the Viennese coffee house with pieces attuned not only to the needs of the ritual itself, but to the aesthetics of an altered world. They speak to the ways in which design can preserve the everyday, from studionero’s “Mokkup” espresso cups which merge natural stone with drinking vessel to Onka Allmayer-Beck’s ceramic “Kaffeehaus” which symbolically brings the setting into one’s home. Reflecting on the contemporary Austrian collectible design scene, this collection highlights the diversity in approaches and room for experimentation that exists among these designers to reimagine, build, and focus on what we cherish.
“Postapocalyptic Kaffeehaus” features work by Anna Paul, Daniel Stuhlpfarrer, Katrina Schneider, KIM + HEEP, MADAME Architects, Michael Anastassiades + J. & L. Lobmeyr, Onka Allmayer-Beck, Peter Sandbichler, Studio Bonpart, Studio Högl Borowski, and Gregor Titze (studionero.).
The Mokkup embodies a vessel whose function eludes immediate recognition: When inverted, it conceals its glazed and smooth heart—designed for 50-60 ml of coffee—appearing as a worthless stone.
These Mokkups are crafted entirely from natural materials, personally collected and excavated. Made of stoneware ceramics, partially glazed, they reflect the necessities of our time: resource-conserving, handmade, raw, sustainable, and durable. Composed exclusively of locally available, self-excavated natural materials, each unique piece invites the user to contemplate needs and habits, excess, luxury, and hierarchies.
The name "Mokkup" itself plays with duality—a linguistic blend of "mockup" (a model or simulation) and "mokka" (coffee). This wordplay reflects the object's nature: simultaneously a prototype suggesting alternative possibilities for everyday objects and a functional vessel for the ritual consumption of coffee. The name embraces both concept and function, just as the object balances between art piece and utilitarian tool.
In their deliberate duality—valuable vessel or discarded stone depending on orientation—the Mokkups challenge our perception of worth. They question how context and perspective determine value, suggesting that what appears worthless from one angle may hold essential purpose from another. This inversion serves as a metaphor for reconsidering resources often overlooked in our consumption-driven world.